Traffic signal system



Dec. 7, 1937. c. B. WATSON 2,101,697

TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM Filed Jan. 17, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l .1: k I If ima ,L,

- r-cela INVENTOR' C. B. WATSON.

ATTORNEY.

c.' B. WATSON 2,101,697

TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM Filed Jan. 17, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o I I 0s o MSI R7, 0 IE I 1 0 o 7 I 51 g H I I g. o R, I

o 1 0 0 0 RH 2 R13 ans Zf M W cm :M \N N INVENTORY- 7 7. C. B.WATS0N.Y

A TTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED @STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,101,697. p TRAFFICSIGNAL SYSTEM Charles B. Watson Omaha, Nelm, asslgnor of forty-ninepercent to Fay G. Johnson, Omaha,

Nebr.

Application January 11, 1935, Serial No. 2,232 @Clalins. (or. 117-329)This invention has to do with the art of trafiic sulting in personalinjury and property damage.

due to thelacl; of facilities for instantaneous perception of therelative control factors which will enaLle the driver to .c ncentrateupon the 15 driving hazards. When ap roaching an intersection having aproceed indication neither driver nor'pedestrian has any knowledge ofthe length of time since .the beginning of the indication and proceeds,often only to have the indica- 20 tion unexpectedly change to stop forhis direction andproceed for the opposite direction, resulting in aforced clearance against-opposing trafllc and stranded pedestrians withthe resulting confusion long indicators which have no dark momentsbetween changes. I v i .Other objects are to provide an illuminanthaving a: high atmospheric penetrating character-.

istic in order-that the'indication may be seen from a greater distance;to provide a systemhaving a continuously moving indicator with arelative difference in intensity for the psychological effect of,concentrating the attention upon the cycle of operations; to provide aflexible control 45 system whereby different rates'of indication areavailable such as varying the length of the time period of the displayof the respective tubes of the indication for a north and south movementfrom that of-the east and west movement and vice 50 versa, also" .ievarying of, the time period in the separate individual indicators aswellas groups of indicators; to provide a flexible system whereby signalunits may be synchronized in groups or individually controlledfiand toprovide an im- 55 proved signal system with a lower. operating cost,

The foregoing and other aims and objects will be apparent from thedetailed description hereinafter appearing when taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

' Figure l is a side view of the head of my tramc -5 signal havingsignals on two sides, one side only being shown.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing oneof the illuminating tubes.

Figure 3 is a section of an illuminating tube showing a modified form ofelectrode. Figure 4 is a sectional view of the head of the signal takenon line 4-4 of Figure 1 but' illustratin'g an octagonal sign-a1 headhaving four sets of signal indicator tubes.

Figure 5 isan enlarged sectional. view ta-lien on line 55 of Figure 6 toillustrate the-"light concentrating element around the electrode.

' Figure 6 shows a portion of a tube adjacent an electrode as seen fromthe rear, said view is env larged to show the built up shoulder of glasswhich forms the light concentrating element around said electrode.

Figure 7 is a. diagrammatic view of the wiring system having four setsof indicating tubes of five electrodes each. 4

Referring more particularly to the drawings reference numeral Itindicates a standard or post upon which a signal head ii is supported.

In my preferred embodiment the head is octagonal in cross-section asshown in Figure 4. The head H is provided with pannels l2, oppositelydisposed, only one of which is shown in Figure 1,

on which is provided vertical tubes RH and Git,

Figure 1, filled with a gas such as neon or the I like and spacedhorizontally apart, tube Rl3 producing a red light and tube Gl3producing a, green light, when a suitable electric current is passedtherethrough. It is desirable ithat the lights on a signal pannel bevisible from only one 7 nels may be coated with any suitable reflectingmaterial to increase the brilliance of the signals. 4

- Each tube is provided at its top and bottom with a rearwardlyextending pocket l5 and I6 respectively in which electrodes l1 and I8respectively are fixed and between said top and bottom pockets areprovided a plurality of intermediately spaced pockets l9 each of whichis provided with an electrode 20. Electricity to energize the gas in thetubes is taken from the secondary 2| of a transformer 22 which issupplied with electric current from any suitable source such as .anordinary commercial circuit 23 carrying 110 volts and having a switch23a. therein. One side of the secondary 2|, which I shall call the lowside 24, is connected to the lower electrodes l8 of the tubes and theother or high side 25 is connected to an arm 26 of a distributor orflasher 21 which is driven by an electric motor 28 of suitable speed. I

. The distributor is provided with a plurality of annularly spacedcontact points 29 mounted'on the insulated base thereof, said pointsbeing connectd in groups, indicated in Figure 7 by large capital lettersR G and small capital letters R G,

the arm being adapted to rotate and successively contact the contactpoints 29. The signal head is provided with four signal pannels withsignals for controlling traffic from four directions and the tubesthereof are identified by large capitals RI, R2, G3 and G4 and smallcapitals R R6,, G1 and G8 corresponding to the tubes similarlyidentified in Figure '7. In the embodiment of my invention hereinillustrated the ,group of tubes indicated by the large capital letterprefixes are lighted, progressively darkened and extinguished together,likewise the tubes identified by the small capital letter prefixes. Inorder to more clearly show the wiring system the tubes in Fig- 'ure '7are provided with only five electrodes instead of twenty electrodesprovided in the tubes RB and GB of Figure 1. With the arm in theposition shown in Figure 7 current is supplied to the upper electrodesof the respective tubes in the large capital letter series and at thesame time current is supplied to the last or lower intermediateelectrodes of the small capital letter series tubes thereby lighting thelast or lower section of said tubes. This is accomplished by connectingthe first contact point of the large capital letter series or group withthe last contact point of the small capital letter series or vances;progressively making contact with the succeeding contact points thecurrent is supplied to respective intermediate electrodes along thetubes so that with each succeeding contact point contacted by the armthe light in the illuminated tubes drops downward and extends from theelectrodes connected with the contact point of the distributor contactedby the'arm to the bottom of the tubes until the last section isilluminated. This section remains illuminated while the following seriesof tubesis illuminated the full length due to the last contact point ofthe large capital letter series being connected-with a wire 3| to thefirst contact point ofthe small capital letter series thus causing anoverlapping in the sequence of the lighting at the time ofsignal changeand eliminating any dark moments between .the illumination of tubes of afollowing series and the extinguishing of the tubes of a previouslyilluminated series, and providing continual, uninterrupted indicatorsignals.

lighting of the auxiliary tube 32 thus makes easy the determi nation oftherelative length of time since the last signal change and the relativelength of time before the next signal change.

A modified form of electrode is shown in Figure 3 wherein the end 35 issomewhat downturned to positively eliminate light above said electrodeand form a sharp line of demarcation of the light at this point.

To increase the intensity of the light at said point and for the purposeof attracting and holding the attention upon the cycle of operation aglass shoulder 34 is built up around the pockets for the electrodes atthe junction of said pockets and the tube. The shoulder concentrates andintensifies the light in the tube locally and reflects said concentratedlight forwardly to form a sharp luminous point at the limits of tubeillumination.

It is to be understood that the signal tubes may be provided with anydesired number of electrodes spaced in any suitable manner. The disheadfor controlling or regulating the signals thereof or one distributor maybe used to control a group of signal heads. It is also to be understoodthat the relative length of the time period for groups of tubes may bevaried relative to each group as well as the length of the time periodof individual tubes in a single series or group. This may be done togive preference to trafflc in certain {directions over tra-flic fromother directlons.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: I

1. In a traffic signal system for controlling tramc at streetintersections and the like, the combination, a signal support, aplurality of extended electrically illuminable indicators on thesupport, said indicators being straight and in same line of trafiic saidindicators being alter-' nately illuminated their full length while apor tion of a previously illuminated indicator is still illuminated.

2. In a trafiic signal system for controllingtrafllc at streetintersections, the combination, a signal support, a plurality ofvertically extending electric illuminable gaseous discharge tubes on thesupport, said tubes being straightand in parallel association andadapted to illuminably and colorably control the fiow of traflic byalternately signaling traffic to stop and to proceed, each of said tubesbeing adapted to be illuminated the full extent thereof and to have theilluminated portion uniformly'decreased in 'tributor may be placed in anindividual signal parallel association relative to each other, the'extent, means for increasing the intensity of the luminescence at thelimits of luminosity of the tubes, and distributing means adaptedtodistribute electric current from a suitable source of supply to thetubes and to alternately illuminate the stop and proceed tube and toprogressively and uniformly decrease the extent of 11- luminati'on 01'the respective tubes.

3.1na traflic signal system for controlling trafllc at streetintersections, the combination, a signal support, a plurality ofstraight, vertically parallel, electrically illuminable indicator tubeson said support spaced horizontally apart and adapted to colorablycontrol the flow of trafiic by alternately signaling traffic to stop andto proceed, said tubes being of different colors upon illuminationthereof, each of said tubes having an electrode in its upper and lowerends and a plurality of intermediately spaced electrodes,

tion of the companion tube is still illuminated.

4. In a tramc signal system for controlling trafllc at streetintersections, the combination, a signal support, a plurality ofstraight, vertically parallel, electrically illuminable indicator tubeson said support spaced horizontally apart and adapted to colorablycontrol the flow of trafllc by alternately signaling traflic to stop andto proceed said tubes being of different colors upon illuminationthereof, each of said tubes having laterally extending electrode pocketsat the upper and lower ends and a plurality of intermediately spacedlaterally extending electrode pockets, shoulders at the junction of thepockets and tube adapted to locally reflect light, elec-' trodes in eachpocket, and distributor means adapted to distribute electric currentfrom a suitable source of supply to the electrodes, said distributingmeans being adapted to distribute s tubes facing the same line oftrafflc while a por-

